Bhubaneswar:  Union Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha on Wednesday hailed Odisha Government for successfully raising and utilising funds under District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in the state.

Sinha who held a review meeting with all chief secretaries via video conference said that Odisha has turned into a model state in making effective use of DMF and hailed the state's performance, said Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.

Padhi informed the Union Cabinet Secretary that Odisha collects Rs 1800 crore annually through DMF. The money is being utilised for the development of the villages affected due to the mining blocks in the state. The money is spent in different sectors like Women & child welfare, nutrition, road, drinking water, health and education.

'Sinha appreciated Odisha's performance and asked other states to follow Odisha's path. He termed Odisha as a model State. The state has raised Rs 3,600 crore and projects of Rs 1,800 crore have been sanctioned. More projects worth Rs 6,000 crore will be sanctioned in next one and a half month. Our annual collection is around Rs 1,800 crore,' Padhi said.